Top Iranian Professor at Zabol University Sentenced to Imprisonment and Flogging

A highly regarded professor in Zabol
University in southeastern Iran has been sentenced to imprisonment and
flogging for posting protests against university administration on Telegram, a
cloud-based instant messaging application popular in Iran.

Vaghayeh Etegafhieh daily reports that a member of Zabol University Science
Faculty has been sentenced to four years in jail and 75 lashes for protesting
against the university's management. Without identifying the professor the
report adds that the accused professor had been recognized earlier as an
Exemplary Professor by the university faculty.

Zabol University Science Faculty members have filed several complaints against
the university administration. However, the Ministry of Science, Research and
Technology which oversees Zabol University has not responded to any of these
complaints. The Zabol University faculty has complained about instances of
plagiarism, favouritism and the university's decline in national ranking from
103 to 127.

Nepotism, coercion to sign petitions in support of the university president,
threat of dismissal and fabrication of charges against students are also among
other complaints cited by Zabol University faculty.

Members of the university's Science Faculty have written two letters to protest
against these problems and have pointed the finger at Moosa Bohlooli the head of
the university which was appointed to the position by the Minister of Science,
Mohammad Farhadi. They maintain that this appointment "reeks of nepotism".

The letters also refer to instances of plagiarism and false claim of
contributions by well-known scholars in articles published by Moosa Bohlooli.
The Rohani administration has not addressed any of the accusations listed in the
two letters from Zabol University Science Faculty.

Meanwhile Bohlooli has dismissed all the accusations and has told Vaghayeh
Etegaghieh that they are all "nonsense".

Zabol University regulations stipulate that faculty members have the right to
elect the University head themselves through a democratic process.

Having received no response to their letters of complaint, the faculty members
reportedly launched a Telegram page entitled "Transparency Watch" to post their
complaints against the university administration. The move allegedly triggers
fury from the administration which leads them to file charges against the top
university professor known as the Exemplary Professor of their institution.

The unnamed individual has been charged with libel, defamation, spreading lies
and disturbing public opinion for which the court has passed a sentence of four
years in jail and 75 lashes.
Zabol Unversity president Moosa Bohlooli has claimed that the charges filed
against this professor are of a personal nature and are not related to the
activities of the Telegram page.

Zabol is the capital of the province of Sistan and Baluchestan in southeast Iran
and home to Zabol University, the largest university in a province that the
Bluchi ethnic minority resides.

The province has been suffering from lack of access to resources and the central
government in Tehran often dismisses the needs and the human rights of the Bluch
minority. There is constant conflict that often involves suppression of the
locals by the intelligence officers or paramilitary Basijis. Many executive and
governmental positions in the province are filled by favoritism to non-locals
who are chosen by the central government.